Pokétalia
by SakuraMoriChan
Summary: Pokémon Trainer AU! Feliciano's dream is to become a strong trainer so that he can take over his Grandpa's Gym. The problem? Feliciano is a weak pacifist with an equally lazy Ralts as a companion. He excels at cooking and retreating, but are these skills enough to become the next Gym Leader and eventually save the world? Of course not. Well, at least his friends can help him.
1. Prologue

Not much happened in the region of Ailateh. At least, not recently. It wasn't boring, exactly. The tranquil valleys in the east, snow tipped mountains in the north and the sunny southern islands attracted Pokémon from all over the world, and made this and its history made it quite a famous area for holidays. However, its popularity with Pokémon Trainers had been in a steady decline ever since the death of the eighth Gym Leader.

Most asked why they couldn't just appoint a new Gym Leader, and this probably would have been acceptable in any other region. But in the Ailateh region, it had always been tradition for Pokémon Gyms to be passed down through families. It just so happened that this particular Gym Leader's only living relatives were his two grandsons, who were both much too young to take over the Gym.

That's fine, everyone thought. All they had to do was wait for one of them to grow up. They would go on their journey once they reached the age of ten, as all trainers did, and when they were strong enough they could take their grandfather's place. Simple.

But it _wasn't _simple. When he reached the right age, many people thought that Feliciano Vargas would jump at the chance to get his own Pokémon and follow in his grandfather's footsteps. Except… well, just looking at the boy brought some pretty obvious problem to light. He was a weak pacifist and was scared too easily. The only result gained from making Feliciano confront a Pokémon was him fleeing before anything even happened. He loved eating, sleeping and painting above all else, and he was pretty much unambitious. It seemed like he had absolutely no desire to take over his grandfather's Gym.

That's fine, everyone thought. They could put off the journey for a year or so. Feliciano would surely begin dreaming of adventure and becoming a great Trainer eventually, just like all kids his age. They just had to wait…

This year, however, soon turned into another year… and another… and another… By the time Feliciano was sixteen, he _still_ had no plans to leave his home.

At this point, everyone had given up. Although the Vargas family was famous for its strong Trainers in the past, Feliciano must have been the exception. The Pokémon Gym now lay abandoned and neglected from lack of use. It was practically hazardous to enter due to rotting and fallen floorboards, and it had become a haven for Ghost type Pokémon over the past few years, especially Ghastly.

Trainers grew uninterested with Ailateh. After all, they couldn't fight the Elite Four of that region without all eight Gym Badges. That didn't mean it was devoid of Trainers, of course. The abundant amount of Pokémon was still quite appealing, and they could always battle with each other. The remaining Gym Leaders were still around, but the practically non-existent battles had made them all extremely relaxed, maybe even lazy.

It was on his eighteenth birthday, about a year after he had accidently caught his own Pokémon, that Feliciano finally realised he had to do something. No one was sure what had caused this change, not even Feliciano himself. It was as if the Gym had been calling to him, beckoning him to become a real Trainer and make his late grandfather proud.

He was now staring at the dilapidated building, his face forming an oddly serious expression. It had been a few months since his decision and it was now finally time. His eight year late journey would begin in the morning.

But, of course, he wouldn't be leaving alone. A little while ago, a loud and energetic Pokémon Ranger named Alfred had arrived at the small town. He and Feliciano became fast friends, and when the latter explained his dream of becoming the next eighth Gym Leader Alfred eagerly declared he would help him. They would travel together, a relief to those who were worried about Feliciano.

With a deep breath and the sun setting in the west, Feliciano neared the looming Gym.

The old door groaned in protest as he tried to push it open, releasing a cloud of dust when it finally gave in and let him inside. Feliciano frowned at the gloom. He could remember the building being full of life when his grandfather owned it, but now it was deathly silent. Even the Pokémon were oddly quiet. Feliciano couldn't help but feel a little sad as he examined his surroundings.

"That's why I'm here, though," Feliciano said to no one. "I'm going to become a strong trainer and make Grandpa proud. Then I'll be able to fix this place up and make it just like how it was when I was little."

Feliciano smiled to himself, clasping his hands together and swaying on the balls of his feet. But then he paused, remembering his reason for entering this desolate building, and slipped a hand into the bag hanging from his shoulder. A Poké Ball was pulled out and he tossed it into the air.

After the expected flash of light faded, a confused looking Ralts was revealed. She looked around the surrounding area, then up at her trainer, and then turned back to the old Gym.

"Okay, Ralts!" Feliciano said cheerfully. "As you know, we leave tomorrow. But I was thinking this morning, and I realised we haven't really had any experience with battling." He pouted. "That's no good! We're probably going to have to fight lots and lots of trainers after tomorrow, so I thought it'd be good if we started practicing. I know that a lot of Ghastly live here, and I also know Psychic types attacks are strong against Ghost types! …But I guess it's the same in reverse too, huh? Um, like I was saying, if we do a little battling now, we'll be much more prepared with any trainers want to fight us! What do you think?"

The noise Ralts made sounded more annoyed than anything. She shuffled past Feliciano, towards the door, only stopping to tug on the boy's trousers.

"I-I know it's getting late, but it's around this time that the Ghost Pokémon come out! Well… actually, I guess they usually come out much later than this, but it'd be really dark and scary and Alfred wouldn't want to come with me 'cause he's scared of Ghost types…" Feliciano went down to his knees and scooped the small Pokémon into his arms. "Listen," he said, now standing again, "I promise you we can go to bed straight after this. I'll even make you some pasta if you want."

With this said, Ralts seemed a little more content. She snuggled into Feliciano's shirt.

"Yay~," Feliciano sang, practically skipping further into the Gym. However, the creaks and groans of the building and the distant cries of various Pokémon eventually dropped his good mood, and he skidded to a halt with a shiver. He suddenly remembered what all the grown-ups had always told him about this Gym, about the floorboards being weak and able to collapse at any moment, that a lot of the Pokémon were territorial and could attack easily, how there had been rumours of shady people lurking around…

"Ve… Okay, m-maybe this _wasn't_ such a good idea."

And then he screamed. Although lightly, something had bumped into his back.

Feliciano immediately spun around, clutching Ralts to his chest. He relaxed, however, when he saw what it was. A Ghastly floated in front of him, obviously very happy with the reaction it caused.

"Oh, y-you scared me…" Feliciano sighed. At least it was just a Ghastly. They were known for just pranking people. Its evolutionary forms were usually considered more malicious though.

Wait a minute… This is what he wanted!

"Quick, Ralts!" Feliciano placed his Pokémon on the ground, who grumbled in response. He tried to shift into a more battle ready stance. "Use, um, u-use Confusion!"

Although obviously reluctant, Ralts complied with his order. The Ghastly was thrown back by the telekinetic attack and hit the ground.

"Good!" Feliciano cheered. For the briefest of moments, he forgot about giving any other commands to his Pokémon. That was all it took.

The Ghastly glared up at Ralts and her trainer. As it floated back to its original height, a dark ball slowly formed in front of it.

Ralts didn't have time to dodge when this ball was fired at her. She went flying and collided with Feliciano, who fell back due to the sheer force of the impact.

He groaned and attempted to sit up. Ralts was sprawled out on his chest, bruised but trying desperately to get up too.

_Only one hit? _Feliciano hugged the smaller Pokémon. "It's okay, Ralts, you don't have to fight anymore. I knew this was a bad idea… But, i-it's okay! The whole reason we're leaving tomorrow is to get stronger, right? You'll be winning loads of battles in no time!"

He had completely forgotten about the Ghastly and paled slightly when he eventually looked up. More and more of the Ghost type Pokémon were appearing, acting as reinforcements to their injured friend. It seemed like every Ghastly in the building had materialised in front of the Trainer, and even one or two Haunter had emerged. Oh, and they all looked _very _angry.

"Oh, I-I-!" Felicano shuffled back, holding the injured Ralts a little tighter as they neared. "Um, I was, I mean, I didn't-!" He whimpered. "H-h-_help!_"

Something leaped in front of him, and then a blinding light filled the room. Feliciano shielded his eyes, but he could hear the sound of the Ghastly crying out in alarm.

He peered from behind his fingers when the light died down enough and felt his mouth fall open. A majestic and proud looking Luxray stood in front of him, staring at Feliciano with some kind of bored expression.

Footsteps sounded from behind the Electric type Pokémon.

"Are you all right?" someone asked. The voice sounded gruff and had an accent Feliciano couldn't place.

"Oh!" Feliciano stood, sparing his Ralts a quick concerned look. "Yes, I-I'm fine!" He tried to get a better look at his saviour, but it was too dark to see properly and he was still partially blinded by the Luxray's attack. All he could tell was that the man standing behind the Pokémon seemed rather large and muscular. "Th-thank you so much! We were really in trouble there!"

For the next few seconds, there was only silence as the stranger regarded Feliciano.

"…Why are you here?" the man asked suddenly. His tone suddenly seemed colder.

"I…" Ralts squirmed in his arms. Feliciano tried to smile. "Well, I kind of own this Gym, so technically I should be the one, um… asking… you…" He trailed off. Even if he had saved him, Feliciano didn't like the way the man was staring at him.

Ralts gave a weak cry.

"Oh, Ralts! I-I've got to take you home." Feliciano looked to the stranger apologetically. "Um, I've got to go; my Ralts is really hurt… Um, thanks again! See you around!" He darted past the man, briefly taking in the details of blond hair and blue eyes. Even after he escaped the building he did not stop.

Who was that man? Feliciano was grateful, sure, but he had seemed kind of scary…

All he knew was that he wasn't going to stop running until he made it home.

* * *

_-Chapter end._

_So, this is the first chapter of this Pokemon Trainer Hetalia AU! XD This was more of a jokey idea at first, but then I mentioned it to two of my friends and they both loved the idea, and I was discussing it a lot with one of them and they really wanted me to write it… So now I have another story to work on XD I hope you're happy, Emma XD _

_The main characters in this fic will be Feliciano, Ludwig, Alfred and Arthur :) I'm not sure if there's going to be pairings or if it'll just be some kind of bromance, but you can probably tell what pairings there would be from those characters, huh? XD_

_Just so you all know, Alfred is a Pokémon Ranger in this fic :) I'm actually surprised I haven't seen more Pokemon/Hetalia crossover fics like that, really o_O It seems like such an Alfred job to have XD_

_Well, I hope this is okay :) Please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	2. It Begins!

A gentle breeze blew through the open window, the ends of the undrawn curtains seemingly dancing in the sudden wind. The bright morning sunlight illuminated the previously dark room, revealing a TV, a shelf with various old recipe books and a few Pokémon picture books, and a bed in one corner with a nightstand next to it and a Ralts resting on the pillow.

Feliciano was curled in a ball under the covers, leaving no part of him visible, which most people would be rather grateful for since this particular Pokémon Trainer didn't believe in wearing pyjamas. In his arms was a small framed picture. If one took the time to examine this photo, they would see that it showed two small boys. One was beaming happily and the other, who resembled the smiling child, was wearing a more grumpy expression. They were both being hugged by a cheerful man who seemed a little too young to be their grandfather.

The room was peaceful and contained a soft silence no one would want to disturb… Well, except for a certain Pokémon Ranger, that is.

It was then that Alfred F. Jones leaped through the window out of seemingly nowhere, rolling when he landed and quickly standing. Both residents of the room were woken by the sudden noise. Feliciano peered out from under the covers and Ralts made an irritated grumble.

"Yo, Feli!" Alfred ran to the bed, a stubborn lock of his dusty blond hair bouncing with his steps. "Get up and put some clothes on! Today's the day!"

Feliciano sat up, still partly covered by his blanket. He felt a bubble of excitement swell inside. It was today. Today he was going to start his journey and make his Grandpa proud.

He jumped to his feet and the Ranger decided to leave the room and give Feliciano time to get dressed. Ralts turned away from her Trainer and attempted to go back to sleep as he started gathering various clothes. After a few minutes of looking at various outfits, Feliciano decided on a simple t-shirt and knee length shorts.

"What do you think?" he asked his Pokémon. "Do I look like I'm ready for an adventure?"

Ralts gave him a bored look. She attempted crawling under the covers.

"Ralts~!" Feliciano lifted the blanket and picked her up. He frowned. "I know this is going to be a little hard, especially after what happened yesterday. I mean, we haven't really left home before… But we have to do this!" His expression was oddly serious. "I don't know why, but I _want _to be the next Gym Leader. But I can't do it alone… I need you and Alfred, 'cause you're my friends! You understand, right?"

The Feeling Pokémon looked up at Feliciano. After a few seconds of possible consideration, she reached forwards and tapped the boy's chest. It seemed to be her way of saying, 'Okay, I'll do it.'

"Ve! Thanks, Ralts!" Feliciano pulled her into a hug.

A beam of sunlight reached the nightstand and something glittered. Feliciano turned towards it with a confused face, still holding Ralts.

The nightstand held a small necklace… well, if it could be called that. The string was thin and held some kind of purple fragment of… something. Feliciano didn't really know what it was. But it had been a present from his Grandpa so it was one of his most precious possessions.

He smiled and put the necklace around his neck.

"Let's go, Ralts," Feliciano said happily and turned towards the door.

* * *

After his grandfather passed away, Feliciano had to move in with the Edelstein family. He didn't really mind too much. They were a kind and supportive family.

For most of his time there, Feliciano acted as a sort of assistant and younger brother figure to Roderich Edelstein, an aristocrat like boy who was two years older than him. Roderich also hadn't left on his own Pokémon journey once he reached ten, but that was mainly due to problems with his legs.

Nowadays, Feliciano lived with both Roderich and Elizaveta Héderváry. He had always been grateful to them for being so understanding and nice, although Roderich was a little strict at times, and even thought of them as family. It felt like he had two big sisters.

He was standing outside with Elizaveta now. They were waiting for Alfred and Roderich so that everyone could say goodbye properly.

"Now, remember," Elizaveta said, holding her trusty frying pan, "if you lock eyes with another trainer, then that means either one of you can start a battle with the other."

"Oh, that's fine." Feliciano smiled. "I always have my eyes closed."

Elizaveta only laughed.

The Pokémon trainer looked towards the woods nervously. He knew that on the other side was a small town, but that was the furthest he had ever travelled on his own. Of course, Feliciano wouldn't be alone as he travelled through the rest of Ailateh; he would be with Alfred and Ralts and any other Pokémon he might catch. But still, this would be the first time Feliciano left home properly. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

_Maybe it won't be that hard? _Feliciano wondered. _Elizaveta always told me stories about her adventure, and she said she had lots of fun… Although, Elizaveta's really strong…_

"Oh, Feli?" Feliciano turned back to Elizaveta. "Here, take this."

Feliciano's mouth fell open. "Your frying pan? But I thought that was your favourite thing ever!"

"Of course it is! But it helped me a lot on my journey, so I think it'd be best if you held onto it for a while. You never know, it might be useful." And then Elizabeta's expression turned a little… scary. "_Especially _if you run into a certain albino…"

"Oh, um…" Feliciano shivered slightly. "Th-thanks, Elizabeta."

It was at that moment that Alfred and Roderich left the house. Alfred grinned and jumped over to Feliciano.

"You ready, Feli?"

"Yep~!" Feliciano sang. He put the frying pan in his shoulder bag, which also contained Ralts' Poké Ball.

Roderich looked at him, a little pensively, and handed him something wrapped in tinfoil. "Here. It's that cake you love so much."

"Oh, wow! Thanks, Roderich!" The young Pokémon Trainer cheered at the sight of his favourite homemade cake and hugged Roderich tightly.

"It's fine. But…" Roderich, even though he usually hated Feliciano's hugs, also wrapped an arm around him. "Just make sure you come back safe, okay?"

Feliciano tensed slightly. He released the other and forced a smile. "Don't worry, Roderich, I will!"

Roderich nodded tentatively. Elizaveta squeezed his hand.

"Well, um…" Alfred started awkwardly. "We should go, Feli. I've got the camping stuff, do you have everything you need?"

"Yep!" Feliciano held up his bag. "Ralts is in here and I've also got some money. Roderich said it'd be a good idea to stock up on Poké Balls and stuff when we reach the next town."

"Yeah, good idea!"

Feliciano turned back to Roderich and Elizabeta. He was going to miss them, but it wasn't like he was never coming back. He wasn't going to let anyone go through that again. "Bye, Elizabeta! Bye, Roderich!" He smiled at them and they smiled in return, although maybe a little more tearfully. "Don't worry; I'm going to become a super strong Trainer! I'll be home soon, just you wait!"

* * *

_-Chapter end._

_Another chapter! XD I'm glad this story had a rather warm reception :) Everyone's right, we do need more Pokétalia stories XD Now, this does have a set storyline, but if you have any ideas or criticism then I'd love to hear it ^0^ This story is kind of flexible right now XD_

_Well, I hope everyone likes this :) Please review and tell me what you think ^_^_


	3. Mostly Exposition

"My first adventure~! My first adventure~!" Feliciano sang as he skipped through the forest. At some point he had jogged his bag so much that Ralts was unwillingly jolted out of her Poké Ball. She was now clinging onto Feliciano's shoulders, trying to sleep and grumbling whenever the trainer jumped too much.

Alfred grinned at him. "You're really excited about this, huh?"

"Yep!" Feliciano skidded to a halt under the shade of one of the many trees. "This is the first time I've left home before! It's kind of scary to think about, but I know it's going to be fun too!"

Ralts gave an annoyed cry. She didn't seem to appreciate the sudden noise.

"Oh, sorry!" Feliciano petted her head sheepishly.

They continued to walk together, mostly silent but occasionally drifting into light conversation. In the distance the calls of Starly and Pidgey could be heard, and a few Bug Pokémon were seen skittering away as the duo moved past.

Alfred stared at these Pokémon with a thoughtful expression. He smiled and turned to Feliciano.

"By the way, what kind of Gym are you thinking of starting?"

"Huh?" Feliciano put his head to one side.

"Well, Gyms usually have a type theme, right? So, what type do you think you'll use? You've already got Ralts, so how about a Psychic Gym? Or a Fairy type Gym?"

Feliciano hummed to himself. "I never really thought about it before," he said with a little shrug. "I only ever told myself that I was going to make friends with lots of Pokémon. …Do you think I can start a Gym filled with lots of cool Pokémon?"

Alfred shrugged. "Unless you're starting a contest hall I don't think 'cool' Pokémon count… That would be pretty awesome, though."

"Really? But big brother Francis said that he only fights with beautiful Pokémon…"

"Who?"

"Oh." Feliciano seemed surprised. He stopped walking and Alfred paused too. "I never told you about him? Well… Big brother Francis owns the Gym in Togracse. You know, that really, really pretty city? He told me that he only trains the most beautiful Pokémon he can find."

"Is that allowed?"

"No idea~."

"Huh." Ahead of them, the town of Rellif could be seen past the trees. It was only slightly bigger than Feliciano's home village, but it also contained a Poké Mart and a Pokémon centre, two buildings that were not present in his village.

"So," Alfred looked at Feliciano, "what's with the 'big brother' part?"

"I always thought of him and big brother Antonio as brothers, so I've called them that since I was little," Feliciano explained cheerfully.

"Is Antonio another Gym Leader?"

"Yep! He lives in Alleap!"

Alfred nodded at this thoughtfully. In truth, he had not really travelled around much of Ailateh. Sure, he had explored more of the region than Feliciano, but there was still quite a lot he hadn't seen considering he had mostly tried to get by with random quests from nearby towns. Helping Feliciano would be his first proper mission in… well, a long time.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Alfred grinned suddenly. "Why don't we try and train Ralts a little? There're plenty of Pokémon here!"

"Oh, um…" Feliciano looked uncomfortable. He fidgeted slightly and, ignoring the grumbles, reached back and scooped Ralts into his arms. "…Maybe?"

"Maybe? Come on, man, you knew we were going to have to do this sooner or later."

"I know, I know, but… Well, I tried to train Ralts a little last night. It didn't end very well…"

"Really? What happened?" Alfred asked.

"I-I went to grandpa's Gym," Feliciano said, a little sadly. "I know you and everyone else said I shouldn't go there anymore, but I thought, since Ralts is a Psychic type, she would do all right against some of the Ghost Pokémon there…" As if reliving the memory herself, Ralts shuddered. "Like I said, it didn't work out. The Pokémon there got really angry…"

Alfred's eyes widened in alarm and worry. "Are you okay? Did they attack you?" His voice sounded urgent. Feliciano was his friend, and the idea of him getting hurt when Alfred couldn't help him was not something he wanted to think about.

"Huh? Oh no, they didn't hurt me," Feliciano told him quickly, making Alfred relax slightly. "Another Trainer appeared and rescued me~."

"Really? Who was that."

Feliciano seemed to think about this for a few seconds. "I don't know," he admitted. "It was really dark there, so I couldn't see their face, but I'm pretty sure I'd never seen them before."

"I see…" Alfred frowned. "But what were they doing at the Gym in the first place? That sounds pretty suspicious to me…"

"Hmm… Maybe they just didn't get the memo about it being closed?"

"Dude, the fact that the eighth Gym was closed is pretty much the first thing people learn about Ailateh. I think it'd be kind of impossible for them to just 'not know'. And even if they didn't, it's pretty run down. Why go inside?"

"Maybe they were training too, or they wanted to catch some Ghost Pokémon."

"…Well, I guess that's a possibility…" Alfred sighed. "Well, just to be safe, maybe we should call Elizaveta and ask her to keep an eye on the place. Suspicious people hanging around is never a good sign."

"Ve…" Feliciano looked down. Ralts was snuggled against his chest rather comfortably. For a split second, he felt doubt. What if he was a useless Trainer? He would be letting everyone down, especially Grandpa and his brother…

But sad emotions never stayed long with Feliciano. Everything would work out, he told himself. He couldn't out himself down yet, his adventure had barely even started!

"Rellif is just over there, right? Come on, let's run!"

* * *

_-Chapter end._

…_Do you ever want to update, but then your brain says, "Fine then! I'll give you absolutely no inspiration or ideas for this chapter!" and then you just don't know what to do and you're kind of dithering…? That happened with this chapter :( _

_This ended up being pretty dialog heavy… I guess this seems like more of an exposition chapter… *sigh*…_

_Well, regardless, please review and tell me what you think :)_


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